Defiance of the Fall 13 characters

Also known as Zachary Atwood, Zac Piker

Appears from the start

The Atwood Empire's ruler enters hegemony by completing a core built around life, death, conflict, and the void. The breakthrough succeeds, but a violent failure in its final stage leaves his human and Draugr aspects in separate bodies.

First appears in chapter 8

The public Draugr identity Zac assigns to the second body created by his breakthrough.

Appears from the start

Zac's adopted daughter, a soul cultivator who directs Atwood war intelligence and coordinates the empire's response to the Kan'Tanu conflict. She is also pursuing an Ultum campaign of her own.

Appears from the start

Zac's disciple and an established commander in the Atwood Empire.

Appears from the start

An Atwood strike leader and seal seeker who commands Valkyries on hazardous frontline missions.

Appears from the start

Zac's demon companion and a shadow cultivator pursuing his own path toward hegemony.

Appears from the start

Zac and Kenzie's K.R. Elu mother, operating as a hidden protector with extensive knowledge of technocrat threats.

Appears from the start

Zac's sister, endangered by the System's continuing interest in her. Jeeves and Leandra are rewriting her body, core, soul, and elemental Dao branches, but the procedure is only a temporary defense.

First appears in chapter 4

Jeeves directs the delicate reshaping of Kenzie's physical and spiritual cultivation to make her less conspicuous to the System.

First appears in chapter 2

The realm spirit governing the Perennial Vastness. Sendor blocks Engo from taking the unconscious Zac.

First appears in chapter 2

An ancient scholar and follower of Sendor who wants to study Zac's extraordinary breakthrough. He uses a powerful array and a false territory to attempt a seizure while Zac is unconscious.

First appears in chapter 2

A powerful observer connected to Esmeralda's interests. Lova watches Zac's breakthrough from concealment but refuses to assist Engo when he tries to capture Zac.

First appears in chapter 13

A Draugr representative who contacts Zac about access to an Abyssal Pond intended to awaken the ancestral bloodline he claims.

First appears in chapter 17

A member of the Kavriel reception who protects Calrin from the province's hostile environment.

First appears in chapter 17

A White Sky Phalanx war child and Isrok reaver who greets Arcaz as a potential rival and tests him with killing intent.

First appears in chapter 17

Zac's Sky Gnome merchant, brought into Kavriel to study its markets and establish trade between the Atwood Empire and the Undead Empire.

Also known as Spirit of Love's Bond

First appears in chapter 8

The spirit within Zac's death-and-conflict tool, Love's Bond. Alea can attempt a supplied D-grade breakthrough once Zac provides the required materials.

Also known as Verun's Bite

First appears in chapter 22

The spirit of Verun's Bite, Zac's life-and-conflict counterpart to Alea's death-attuned tool. His planned evolution is paired with hers so the two weapons can maintain their complementary balance.

First appears in chapter 25

A Jix anointed and hive integrator entrusted with resources and responsibility for dispersing the Jix through Atwood formations. His role links the hive's future to the empire's military reorganization.

First appears in chapter 25

The second Jix hegemon and a Grub Knight whose merit mission calls for mounted grubs. The breeds currently available to the hive are not suited to the combat role the mission demands.

First appears in chapter 25

The Atwood Navy's leader, occupied with containing aquatic beast kings near the archipelago. He declines war registration and considers transferring Bao's link to a water-affined descendant.

First appears in chapter 29

A Draugr monarch who explains the risks of the Abyssal Pond's bloodline awakening. Laws helps oversee a tightly controlled ritual whose effects may exceed the local array's intended limits.

First appears in chapter 29

A high monarch and leader of Kavriel who observes Arcaz's Abyssal Pond awakening. His presence reflects the political and spiritual importance attached to the returning bloodline.

First appears in chapter 30

An ancestral presence contacted beyond the artificial pond in the true abyssal lake. The contact triggers a temporal disturbance and leaves its outcome unresolved.

Appears from the start

An Atwood seal bearer and long-range combatant serving among Zac's elite forces. His extreme-range attacks are suited to removing enemy leaders and hardened targets from a support position.

First appears in chapter 47

A pirate-raider and natural Hollow Court seal bearer found captive in a remolded dungeon. Zac frees her from that prison but confines her on Earth while deciding whether she can be trusted.

First appears in chapter 49

An Atwood research navigator whose technocrat components keep him outside ordinary battlefield units. Contact with Zac's Court Cycle Token produces a Far Sea Court rune, marking a connection the token accepts.

First appears in chapter 55

A Zathia seal bearer and former healer-alchemist presented to Zac after the duel. He appears as an undead captive, and Zac immediately recognizes that his body no longer carries life.

First appears in chapter 57

A powerful shadow-path assassin who intercepts Ogras, claims a debt to the Lord of the Perennial Vastness, seals away Ogras's Shadewar flag, and takes charge of his compulsory year of Red Hand Society training.

First appears in chapter 58

The commander of an allied defense against a Kan'Tanu fleet. Lord Everfast counters a monarch's mental pressure and triggers a dimensional convergence that brings a hidden fleet and asteroid strike into the battle.

First appears in chapter 61

An adolescent heaven-render vine approaching D-grade. Harrow's rapid growth and aggressive instincts make him increasingly dangerous unless Zac can establish a stable bond before the breakthrough.

Appears from the start

Zac's aging spirit-plant companion. Vivi has reached peak E-grade, but her declining life force and inability to match stronger wartime opponents leave her future uncertain.

Also known as The Emperor's Spear

First appears in chapter 63

An ancient spearwoman manifested in the last stage of Joanna's trial. Known as the Emperor's Spear, she sets survival against her attacks as the test rather than requiring Joanna to win.

First appears in chapter 64

An Allbright captain assigned to guide Zac's forces through the red-zone deployment. He presents himself as an experienced frontline officer familiar with the Alliance's routes and procedures.

First appears in chapter 69

A Dravorak Alliance commander placed over the force seeking the damaged Limitless Empire fortress. Dawson controls operational intelligence and coordinates movement through the unstable battlefield.

First appears in chapter 75

A Mavai frontline leader fighting beside Zac at the fortress hotspot. The chieftain destroys the hexmaster's last surviving clone, making the newly ownerless Starfall Court seal safe for him to claim.

First appears in chapter 77

The corrupting resident of the ancient bell that compelled soldiers to offer their own hearts. The entity appears especially interested in Vilari and receives her when she enters the bell alone.

First appears in chapter 78

The hidden architect of a year-long operation directed against Zac. After assessing the failed plan and the bell's unexpected interference, the prince orders a compromised operative eliminated.